Marco approves plan to expand its water production, distribution

A steady hum and a greenish glow are fixtures of the building housing the carbon filters for water gathered at the city's Marco Lakes facility. After undergoing treatment, the water is sent to wells for storage, awaiting use on the island or mixing with the highly purified water produced in the city's reverse osmosis facility.

Eagle staff

Marco City Council unanimously approved the city's 10-Year Water Supply Facilities Plan, a blueprint to expand its reclaimed and potable water production and distribution facilities as the island continues to grow.

The vote, with Councilor Chuck Kiester absent, means the plan now becomes part of the city's comprehensive plan. The vote followed a brief introduction of the plan, but no discussion or public comment.

The city still has 2,000 vacant lots for single-family homes, the greatest area of expansion, according to the plan, which notes, "The limited remaining lots for condominiums and commercial businesses would only be a small fraction of the potable water demand by the new homes."

There are about 16,500 permanent residents, but the peak population, including part-time residents, non-residents and workers, jumps to roughly 40,000 in February and March — a number that's expected to grow to 46,000 once lots are built out.

That growth means undersized pipes insufficient to serve some areas will get replaced within the next decade, according to the plan, which says some of those older pipes are made from asbestos.

Marco Island has two water sources, with the bulk coming from the Marco Lakes site, the 207-acre North Water Treatment Plant located nine miles north of the island, near the corner of U.S. 41 and Collier Boulevard. That site provides six to eight million gallons daily, with water coming primarily from groundwater infiltration, rainfall that flows into the lakes.

The city recently added a 4-million gallon storage tank, which replaced three 500,000-gallon tanks at the North Water Treatment Plant. A 9,900-gallon-per-minute pump station that is expandable to 13,300 g.p.m. also was installed.

The second water source, the South Water Treatment Plant, which serves the southern end of the island, desalts the island's 15 groundwater wells. The brackish, salty water is purified through a more expensive reverse osmosis process.

"The expanded finished water storage facility is more than adequate to meet build-out storage demands," the plan says, noting that it's unlikely there will be a need to further modify the water supply and treatment facilities in the current work plan.